Learning How to Worship from a Worshipper!!

One of my favourite pasttimes if I am struggling to engage with God during worship in church is to focus and watch someone who is "in the zone" and I find it lifts my spirits and before long I am leaving distractions aside and focusing on what really matters - or Who really matters! One of the reasons why I treasure women worship leaders so much - such as Kate Simmonds, Lou Fellingham, Darlene Zschech or Isi de Gersigny - is I find they are far more abandoned to worship and far more ready to move into the Holy Place. I love it!

And Wendy Virgo is no exception. Although she doesn't leave worship, she is pretty easy to spot in a Newfrontiers conference. She is usually to be spotted in the front row with both arms raised - lost in wonder, love and praise. So it is great to read her latest blog post;

"The pastor called the chattering mob to order. “OK folks! Time to stop talking and start worshipping!” It was hard to get them to focus at first: 500+ people all greeting, hugging, laughing, swapping stories, kids milling about. It was warm, friendly, lively and strangers were welcomed gladly. But John the pastor persevered, and the band played some chords. “OK, are you ready to worship? God is here. He will meet with us and speak to us.”

Somehow you knew this was true; it had already been demonstrated in the expressions of love in the large auditorium. Now the people responded, rising to their feet to sing. For the next 50 minutes we were in glory, enjoying God, celebrating our salvation, worshipping the King among us.

A lot of the time our hands were in the air, or clapping, or both. The band was technically excellent: it was difficult to keep still! The words of the songs were declarations of truth that resonated in heart and mind. It was loud, but it seemed appropriate!

There were prophecies, a reading or two, a tongue and interpretation, a prophetic song. From the top of the banked seating to the front of the auditorium, there was enthusiastic involvement. It drew to a close after about 50 mins. Long? It didn’t feel long. When Terry came to preach, he was speaking to hearts that were open, primed to hear and receive.

I have been in worship that was technically excellent, but empty. I have been in long worship that seemed endless! I have been in loud worship and it was simply noise that made my ears hurt. I have also been in worship that was efficient, brief lasted exactly 14 minutes and 32 secs, and it did not leave me longing for more; no room for gifts of the Spirit.

I have learned a technique: when I am in an unfamiliar crowd and I want to find Jesus, I imagine I am like the woman who needed to press through and touch his robe. I try to push through the obstacles to find Him. But it is so refreshing when you are in a crowd that is shouting hosanna, metaphorically waving palm branches and welcoming the King! Seeker friendly? Bah, humbug!

So—how do you get there? You prioritise on the presence of God. Musicians learn that they are like priests who stand before God and the people, and make it easy or hard to find Him. There has to be an ethos in the church of anticipating the presence of God, to recognise Him, cherish Him and respond to Him.

The previous day, we had looked around an amazing new facility that had become available for their newest church plant. This is a burgeoning church, a church on the move, but a worshipping church. Gifts of the Spirit flow; lives are being changed; people are being saved.


What an edifying weekend!"

Worship Songs at Together on a Mission 2011

Update: Adrian Warnock's got a more complete list here;

One of the highlights of the now-finished TOAM conference is the powerful times of worship and encounter with God led by Simon Brading and Kate Simmonds. I am so pleased that Simon posted some of the worship songs he used, so I could see what we missed in the sessions we didn't go to!

Here they are;

"Here are the songs we used at the Newfrontiers Together On A Mission conference this year.

Tuesday PM

This is Jesus Bm (Tom Lockly)
Christus Victor A (Simon Brading)
Praise the Lord oh my soul A (Graham Ord)
Agnus Dei A (Michael W. Smith)
Wednesday AM Mobilise

Our God He reigns C#m (Simon Brading)
Christus Victor A (Simon Brading)
Holy (Jules Burt, Sam Cox)
[Tom Shaw preach]
Be lifted up (Paul Oakley)
Be still for the presence (David Evans)
Wednesday PM

Psalm 40 (Simon & Anna Brading)
Mighty to save (Reuben Morgan)
Christus Victor (Simon Brading)
You alone can rescue (Matt Redman, Jonas Myrin)
Our God (Matt Redman, Jonas Myrin, Chris Tomlin)
[PJ Smyth Preach]
Blessed be Your name (Matt & Beth Redman)
There is a day (Nathan Fellingham)
How great is our God (Chris Tomlin)
Thursday AM

Psalm 40 (Simon & Anna Brading)
Our God He reigns (Simon Brading & Matt Redman)
Have You heard (Simon Brading, Graham Kendrick, Nathan Fellingham)
Spirit of the living God
All hail the Lamb
Christ in me (Nathan & Lou Fellingham)
What can I say / I’ll stand (Joel Houston)
Friday AM Mobilise

I come to be with You (Jules Burt)
Yesterday, today and forever (Vicky Beeching)
Holy (Jules Burt, Sam Cox)
Shine (Matt Redman)
What can I say / I’ll stand (Joel Houston)

Together on a Mission 2011 - Day 2!

I don't think there could have been a clearer demonstration of the prophetic power of attending a charismatic conference like "Together on a Mission" than there was today.

I was sadly quite distressed to read a rather harsh statement from the SGM Board of Directors released just before the start of the 14:30 session that seemed to go against so much of the humility and gentleness that Josh Harris expressed in his message to Covenant Life Church last Sunday about the "Mahaney saga". Essentially they have almost dismissed Brent Detweiler's concerns because the documents have been leaked on the internet.

There could be no more perfect time to enter into worship led by my very favourite - the wonderful Kate Simmonds. She taught us a couple of new songs - all of which were focused on the truth "In Christ Alone". Our hope is in Him and Him alone! We then finished by singing; "Shout to the Lord!" - the glorious anthem that just truly lifted me into heaven. I reflected that yes - men come and go, men like Mahaney's live and die, governments come and go, SGM may rise or fall, but Jesus Christ and only Him is forever!

That time of worship truly geared my heart towards receptivity towards the preaching - Terry Virgo came forward to give his second address of the conference again in Hebrews 12:1-15;

His prayer; "Lift our hearts again and with fresh joy so we can run into what you have for us".

In the race it is possible for us to grow weary in well-doing and lose heart so the invitation comes again to look to Him. Christ genuinely is the answer to every statement and every problem! Jesus Himself presented Himself as the answer to every problem. Keep him in focus and as you do it can inspire robust faith! When Peter kept his eyes on Jesus he walked on water! "Consider Him" - whatever circumstances, never turn your gaze away from Him.

Nothing compares to the Cross! The writer to the Hebrews says; "You are in danger of forgetting". Fear is beginning to dominate you - you have forgotten Proverbs 3; "My Son" - (v11-12). Hebrews have an OT perspective full of revelation of who they were yet they were forgetting they were sons.

God is not just wanting to get a job done! He is trying to bring many sons to glory!

He sent His beloved Son into human form to show us what sonship is all about.

He wants "sons" not just "sinners who have found their way to heaven" and we must keep our eyes on this or we will become full of self-pity.

Pressure is proof that we belong. You mustn't interpret that as "perhaps I don't belong". It means God is on my case. Evidence of His love!

The eagle stirs up her nest alone because she wants her young to fly. She wants them to catch the breeze on their wings!

"Jacob have I loved" - His special focus was on Jacob. Yet Jacob's life does not look like one specially loved. "From vessel to vessel" - why? Because I love Him! Jacob was a prince with God even though he was limping. It is the mark of one being loved. Jesus answered Satan's taunts knowing He was assured in His Sonship. God wants fully grown sons! (Phil 1:6); "He who began a good work in you". God is at work in me! (Ephesians 2:10) - we are His workmanship! (Hebrews 13:21); "what is pleasing". You have forgotten that He chastens.

The Hebrews had been through hard times. Injustice so often makes us feel "It's not fair!" but God uses it to get under our skin. People may write or blog about you without permission and you may lose your reputation even. Something in us wants to know why. If it makes sense it is okay - but God doesn't always explain why! "We were burned excessively!". Sometimes we can question if we can even carry on. Why? Because of His Father's love - we can carry on. Earthly fathers discipline children - they do what they think is best. Yet God does that so that we may share in His holiness.

God is at work in us to disturb our smugness - we are Reformed, we are restorationist, we are charismatic. You can get so clear and so sorted that you don't realise you are still wearing sunglasses. God shakes us to save us from pride! God led the children of Israel through the wilderness to humble them. Paul spoke of a thorn in the flesh to save him from being exalted about measure. Joseph also saw a vision but then went to prison! David took out Goliath but then had to go to a cave! He has ways of handling us. Elijah told Ahab it would rain - and then it didn't! God and His loving ways of humbling us!

Terry has also had prophetic words; "I have need of you in Kingston". But it's just not happening yet. He is still in Brighton! When!?

"Contrite" means lamed. It describes a lame man - humble. Sometimes the best preaching comes from a personal softening by preachers (Psalm 119:17); "It was good for me that I was afflicted". It is how you respond to suffering that makes you holy - not suffering itself. You can go through things and actually miss the point! 1. Don't despise it. 2. Don't faint when you are reproved by Him. 3. Don't allow a root of bitterness to grow up. You can get angry - God uses people at times to humble us.

Instead it says "obtain grace"! Bitterness is a powerful thing and can get into your soul. We need grace to forgive! You will not learn and be trained if you carry the bitterness. Release again and again and again! You either let them pile up or you obtain grace!

You must not carry bitterness - it will wreck you!

"He learned obedience". How did the perfect One learn obedience? He learned to be a man yet He conquered again and again. God is calling us to flight! It isn't just knowing it - it's having churches free from bitterness. You can mess up God's plan to have glorious churches! We are not carrying bitterness - because we realise that He wants us to share His holiness. Refuse bitterness - let God purge it from your soul. "Exhortation that addresses you as sons". The greek is "dialogue or reason" with you.

When God chastens you, R T Kendall says; "He is not getting even - He got even at the Cross!".

"Hugging comes after wacking!" - Anna Virgo.

Respond appropriately! God wants to set us free. He wants you through the experience to find you healed. Is there anything in my life that I won't let people near? Don't be sensitive. Loosen it up! Face the pain - don't have no go areas. "Pursue peace with all men!". The word is active and it means "strive for". "Afterwards it will yield the peaceful fruit of righteousness". Jesus said "afterwards you will understand".

Personal word from Terry - God is saying to us; "You don't understand what I am doing now - but afterwards you will".

Childbirth makes the pain worth it! Because of the motivation of His love - God disciplines. He wants you rid of bitterness. Walk in freedom! Don't carry bitterness another day. Leave it here! There may be people you may wish to speak to. Pursue peace!".

Terry then led us into a very powerful time of ministry and called people who had been weighed down with bitterness to come forth and lay it down. The power of the Holy Spirit was very evident and I could hear people weeping. My heart went out and I wished that so many of my dear friends at SGM Survivors and Refuge who have been so hurt by C J Mahaney and SGM could have been there - to make their peace with their pain and to let the loving Christ come and heal their pain.

I Love Kate Simmonds!!

Ahh at the risk of sounding like a desperate fan, I am SO thrilled to find these video's tonight. I've been a fan of Kate Simmonds for some years now since I enjoyed her leading worship at Stoneleigh Bible Week. I've never experienced such gentle but powerful leading into the Presence of God. Even if you are struggling to plug into the Presence of God, you only need look at her and see her example. She isn't just singing or performing. She's worshipping.

So her loss to CCK and to Brighton was a loss for the UK - but a massive gain for Australia and Sydney! And it is great to see she is putting her God-given awesome gifts to use for the benefit of the nations. Here's some videos that her church have uploaded with some new songs she has written. The first video is where she explains how she came to write "Grace is not earned".

The final video is the classic hymn "Here is love vast as the ocean" but with Kate's unique slant on it. Alas you can't embed it - but it's well worth following the link and watching!

Worship from "Together on a Mission 2010"

One of the main elements I desperately missed from being at Brighton this year was the worship - Kate Simmonds and Lou Fellingham are my favourite worship leaders alongside Darlene Zschech (and Isi de Gersigny). What do they all have in common? Yes - they are all beautiful blond ladies. Yes - they all have incredible voices. But more importantly than even that, they all have a God-given, Spirit-empowered ability to lead the people into the manifest Presence of God. And I guess that is faith-building in and of itself.

I will never, ever forget being at CCK in Brighton when Rob Rufus was speaking just before "Together on a Mission 2007" and hundreds of us had flocked up for prayer - and I saw Kate Simmonds just round the stage up front dramatically receiving from God. That stuck with me - a daughter of God who was thirsty for more of Him.

So I'm grateful and very interested in this blog for faithfully recording the songs sung - and even more excited and encouraged to see that the worship leaders at Brighton do not make it all about "new" songs. Some of my favourite "golden oldies" were sung there such as;

Holy Holy (All The Heavens) Reuben Morgan
Majesty, Worship His Majesty Jack Hayford
Here Is Love Vast As The Ocean William Rees (& Kate Simmonds)
Jesus Lover Of My Soul Paul Oakley
Strength Will Rise Brenton Brown
Father of creation David Ruis
In him I have believed Kate Simmonds

Here's the complete list;

TUESDAY 1130

The Greatest Day In History (Happy Day) Tim Hughes
Come Let Us Worship The King of Kings Nathan Fellingham
To God Be The Glory Fanny Crosby and Nathan Fellingham
Holy Holy (All The Heavens) Reuben Morgan
Who O Lord (You Alone Can Rescue) Matt Redman
Majesty, Worship His Majesty Jack Hayford

TUESDAY 1430

We Are Gathered Evan Rogers
This Is The Day Evan Rogers
You Give Me (New Song) Evan Rogers
Twimba Lelu Evan Rogers
You O Lord, Rich In Mercy Mark Veary & Paul Oakley
And Can It Be Charles Wesley
You Have Become For Us Wisdom Mark Altrogge
No One But You Lord Andy Park

TUESDAY 1900

My Saviour, Redeemer Reuben Morgan
Wake Up My Soul Kate Simmonds
Looking In The Sky (Amazing God) Nathan Fellingham
Here Is Love Vast As The Ocean William Rees (& Kate Simmonds)
How Lovely Is Your Dwelling Place (Better Is One Day) Matt Redman

WEDNESDAY 0900

The Glory Of Our King Matt Redman
Looking In The Sky (Amazing God) Nathan Fellingham
To God Be The Glory Fanny Crosby and Nathan Fellingham
Oh To See The Dawn Stuart Townend
Lift Up His Name Nathan Fellingham
Jesus Lover Of My Soul Paul Oakley

WEDNESDAY 1430

Clap Your Hand Evan Rogers
What A Mighty God You Serve Evan Rogers
You Are Mighty Craig Musseau
Strength Will Rise Brenton Brown
When The Dark Prevails Evan Rogers
There Is A Day Nathan Fellingham

WEDNESDAY 1900

Praise awaits you Matt Redman
Even as the world began Matt Redman
Great is he who’s the king of kings
Grace is not earned Kate Simmonds
I stand amazed in the presence C H Gabriel
Father of creation David Ruis

THURSDAY 0900

You Are The Lord Chris Tomlin
In Jesus Nathan Fellingham
Promised Land Nathan Fellingham
A Father To The Fatherless Paul Oakley

THURSDAY 1115

We Stand And Lift Up (Holy Is The Lord) Chris Tomlin
Praise Is Rising Nathan Fellingham
Our God Is Greater Chris Tomlin
We Are Thirsty (Let It Rain) Simon Brading
Strength Will Rise Brenton Brown
In All I Do (This Is My Worship) Lou Fellingham

THURSDAY 1430

To God Be The Glory Fanny Crosby and Nathan Fellingham
From The Highest of Heights Laura Story
Christ In Me Lou Fellingham
Your Blood Matt Redman
Blessing and Honour Gary Sadler

THURSDAY 1900

When the dark prevails Evan Rogers
I believe in Jesus Marc Nelson
From the north to the south Evan Rogers
Celebrate in the lord Evan Rogers
Who is this emerging like the dawn Evan Rogers
Everybody in the Church Evan Rogers
Free free I’m free indeed Evan Rogers
Ecstatic Praise Evan Rogers
Happy Day You give me hope / New Song Evan Rogers
Bambelela

FRIDAY 0900

There is mercy from the throne Phatfish
Here is love William Rees
Saviour King

FRIDAY 1115

In Jesus Phatfish
Wake up my soul Kate Simmonds
Grace is not earned Kate Simmonds
Christ in me Phatfish
In him I have believed Kate Simmonds

I hope there's a live CD coming out!

My Favourite Worship Leader Ever!!

I was thrilled to find this morning a clip from an interview with the amazing Kate Simmonds. She probably was the person I missed not going to Brighton this year! Why am I such a fan? Because she unfailingly has led me into the Presence of God every time I have been in a meeting where she is leading. Whether it was in the conference hall at Brighton or at Stoneleigh or at Church of Christ the King - everytime. And I think she does it because she is a worshipper first and foremost. You can see it is pretty irrelevant to her about being on a stage - her heart is simply to lead people into God's Presence and when you look at her and see she is already in God's Presence, then it creates a thirst to follow quickly behind and not miss out!

I've been unfortunately in some meetings where some (mostly male) worship leaders dominate the proceedings and make it all about them. They don't like being interupted even if God shows up and one in particular would look irritated if someone came to the microphone wanting to bring a prophecy or a tongue! Kate couldn't be further from that. I will never forget her leading at "Together on a Mission" 2007 when Rob Rufus was causing all sorts of chaos! Correction - God through Rob Rufus was causing all sorts of chaos! She loved it. You could see she didn't know what was happening but her God was present and that was all that matters.

My heart's desire is to get to go to Sydney one day soon and visit the church there where Peter Brookes is leading (another hero of mine!) and split my time somehow between Kate Simmonds, Darlene Zschech and Hillsongs and of course the wonderful Fini and Isi de Gersigny! What a blessed city! So here's the video clip;



This particular quote really stuck with me;

"How I would love to be remembered is ... as someone who loved God, loved people and help people know that they were loved".

Ryan Rufus's latest awesome book; "Sanctification by Grace" was so important in that respect because I believe the same passion grips his heart as Kate's. He wants to help people know that they are loved. And I think that is something that has become increasingly a burden to me. I've been in too many churches now for my liking where the leadership are too often focused on telling you that God is angry with you, that God is judging and watching you. How many like me remember the kind of poems our well-meaning parents would repeat to us? They often had a line like;

"And when we're good it pleases Jesus".

The unspoken implication being; "If you are bad then it makes Jesus angry and He'll 'get' you". Surely the cruelest thing that a church leader can ever do is to use threats such as; "We are casting you out to Satan". How far is that from the prodigal son account? The father who was watching anxiously for his son's return and came running down the road eagerly on his approach. I wonder how many church leaders would come running down the road if prodigals returned to church. My conviction is that many prodigals won't ever darken some church doors again because they are too scared about what will happen if they do. Even I - who have been in Christian and church life for 30 years - wouldn't go to some churches ever again.

No - I love this vision that is expressed by both Kate Simmonds and Ryan Rufus. To help people know that they are loved. What a thing to be remembered for!

The Day of Favour is Here!!

I've just been blasting this wonderful beautiful song from Kate Simmonds into the flat - competing with my neighbour who is doing some drilling or something. Kate wins every time. Just reminded me how much I miss her wonderful style of worship leading. Lord ... when can I go to Sydney and relocate!?



The words are just pure grace!

"That we might be the righteousness of God! ... It's our time to arise! I am not ashamed ... I know I am changed and all You've given me - this hope, this love, this life - I can't deny Your power within me! So here I am send me! ... Be reconciled to God - Your favour is here! Now is the time - let Your glory arise!".

It reminded me so much of Rob Rufus's absolutely AWESOME song he sung in Hong Kong last year. So often gospel preaching is talking about the anger of God and that salvation is from His wrath. And yes there was an aspect to that - but the Cross finished that! His wrath is done! His wrath is spent! So our message to Hong Kong, to Birmingham, to London and the world should be;



"Turn your hearts to Me! Turn away from misery! Turn away from unbelief! Turn away from every offence! Turn away from all bitterness and turn to Me your God! For I am turning the hearts of the city of Hong Kong! ... This is your day! This is your hour! Let's cry out to Hong Kong! He doesn't visit you with judgement or rejection - He is pouring out His glory on you Hong Kong! He is pouring His glory and grace! Fathers will find their sons and sons their fathers!".

Oh let our message ring out to the lost. Favour is here! This is the time! This is the hour! Let ALL come and find salvation!

Kate Simmonds on Why the Church Exists

I loved this quote while listening to some teaching on worship from "Together on a Mission 2007";

"If the church is not regularly in the manifest Presence of God then we are missing our reason for being"

Kate Simmonds - "Worship in the Local Church Training Track"

Emphasis on "manifest". Of course God is everywhere and omnipresent. But is He "manifest" in your church? And if He is manifest then what is He doing? Because let's face it - God won't be manifest and can't be manifest without people noticing. "Seeing and hearing" - the Bible calls it!

One AWESOME Revelation from Joseph Prince!!

I wasn't very happy last night. I forgot my IPOD and so couldn't spend the hours from 02:00 to 06:00 when it's usually quiet transcribing the glorious messages of Rob Rufus! But it actually worked out pretty well - and I wonder if it was a divine coincidence in light of my last blog. It was as though my heavenly Father was having a laugh at my expense and making me sit quietly just reading. Because fortunately I had taken Joseph Prince's book; "Destined to Reign". So I finished reading it last night and WOW am I glad I reached the end!

He shared something so profound and so obvious that I sat back and laughed out loud to myself. I - who prided myself on being well-taught in the Word - had totally missed this! My doctor of theology senior pastor never preached this! But here it is!

"As I was reading these Scriptures one night, the Lord asked me; "Why did that man have great faith?". I immediately replied that it was because he, being a Roman centurion, was a man of authority and thus understood the authority of the Lord Jesus. I was confident of my reply, having been taught that to have great faith, we need to understand the Lord's authority and the authority He has given to the believer.

The Lord said to me; "Good and what about the other person who I said had great faith?". He was referring to the Syro-Phoenician woman who had a demon-possessed daughter ... The Lord continued; "Well if the centurion had great faith because he understood authority, what about this woman? She was not a soldier - she was a homemaker". Now the Lord had got me there ... then the Lord said to me; "Son, look for the common denominator between these two people and you will discover the secret to great faith".

Boy I was excited! I was about to discover the secret to having great faith! But after more than half an hour, I was still sitting in my study, searching for the common denominator. I was searching and searching to no avail. I simply could not find the answer. Finally my "lightning-fast" mind told me I should ask the Lord for the asnwer. So I said; "Lord, You have to show me because I cannot see it".

Then the Lord said this to me; "Both were Gentiles. They were not Jews. One was a Roman and the other a Caananite. Both of them were not under the law of Moses and therefore they did not disqualify themselves. They were not under condemnation and so they could have great faith to receive from Me".

Do you know that there is a verse in Galatians that says; "the law is not of faith?". In Romans, it also says, "For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is of no effect". So clearly there is no way we can give people the law and yet expect them to have faith. The law will disqualify them from receiving any blessing from the Lord. It is only faith in His grace that will qualify God's people and cause them to have great faith to receive what they need from the Lord".

You might be asking quite rightly; "But what is faith?". Because the word can be understood in many ways. Perhaps the health-wealth-prosperity preachers have given the word a bit of a bad name. But despite the excesses I think they may have taken the word "faith" to - I still think they started off in their teaching with a point. Joseph Prince defines faith thus;

"Faith is not trying to make something that is not already there happen. Faith is bringing out of the spirit realm what is ALREADY there, what is ALREADY true of you. I am not telling you to confess something you are not".

And note this especially. It was so awesome I had to text it to Pete Day at some unearthly hour of the morning! And if I could have got online to blog it - I would have!

"Whether you confess that you are the righteousness of God in Christ or not, you are still the righteousness of God in Christ. But when you confess it, you become concious of it. You sense it and it becomes powerful and real in your life. You do not confess that you are righteous IN ORDER to become righteous. You confess you are righteous BECAUSE you are ALREADY righteous! ... That's not having faith in faith. It is faith in His goodness - faith in His grace".

Driving home with a big grin on my face looking stupid is becoming something of a habit only this morning I was repeating; "I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus"! Oh and if you are wondering why I've put a couple of pictures of Darlene Zschech worshipping - it's because my response to these revelations is worship and adoration at His great grace. And no one sums up a posture of worship like this amazing woman - who is one of my favourite worship leaders along with Kate Simmonds! The Australians have certainly discovered the key to worship.

Drinking from the Stream ...

Some of you may remember my previous post: "Thirsty? There is No Other Stream ...". I learnt that when you make a statement such as that it's important - no vital - to "live" what you write. To "experience" what I saw. Otherwise I'm no better than any other dry and dusty Pharisee that's a dime a dozen these days. I've been having a pretty terrible few weeks at work and have been struggling with work-related stress and it looks like I may have to work through a grievance procedure at work so things probably aren't going to get better for a while. BUT! I was walking to work on my 5th night of 6 and happened to play a selection of worship songs on my IPOD - with my favourite worship leaders; Darlene Zscech, Kate Simmonds and Lou Fellingham.
And I can only say that the power of God fell on me! The theme of all the worship songs seemed to naturally be the Cross of Christ - the amazing nature of "shuffle"! Again and again the fresh and amazing revelation of those songs came through to me again and again. That "Christ was made sin for us - Took the blame, bore the wrath—We stand forgiven at the cross"! When it got to the line; "For through Your suffering I am free. Death is crushed to death; Life is mine to live" - I found it hard to keep standing never mind walking!

It reminded me of the vital nature of drinking of the Spirit - continually. Why is it that we so quickly forget and relegate experiences of God to special occasions? If we are - then surely we are depriving ourselves of power to live by! And worship is such an awesome way to turn our attention off our problems and back to God. Thanks to Lydia for reminding me of the awesome Hillsongs resources that are available - their worship videos never fail to stir me.

Here's a few. Enjoy!

"You are My World".


"I Will Run to You".


And one of my favourites; "Mighty to Save".


Whatever life throws at us - whatever trials, whatever tribulations - let's never forget to worship the King of Kings - the Lover of our souls! Because He is worthy!

Re-Thinking Brighton

Everyone is well aware of my outspoken views and opinions on Mark Driscoll. I've always been aware of Driscoll's ministry from a distance but have never really got into it in much depth. However our paths became crossed when firstly my parent's church began to have a lot more to do with Mark Driscoll and his "style" of ministry - and then of course the announcement that Mark Driscoll was coming to "Together on a Mission 2008" - effectively ensuring I wouldn't be. However ...

No I am not changing my mind. I've still got no desire to hear Mark Driscoll live particularly although I am beginning to appreciate benefits to what he has to bring to the church. I read his interview for the Newfrontiers magazine with interest. The questions (as always) are so telling. For example, what would you say if you were asked; "Given your vantage point, what would you predict for the development of evangelicalism in the West over the coming 20 years?". In light of all I am learning about the true New Covenant from Rob Rufus's teaching (as well as Terry Virgo, Bill Johnson, Larry Tomczak and others) - I would agree with Driscoll's first point about the gospel. But then he says this;

"And call for dudes to act dudely".

And suddenly I know why I am not going to Brighton for the whole week. However gifted and useful to the Church Mark Driscoll maybe, I really don't want to grow and model myself on the kind of manhood he is propagating. I would rather learn from a website like; "After God's Own Heart" - and the plenty of positive male role models there are in the church who AREN'T ashamed to participate in all the activities that Driscoll would see as "un-dudely" (such as crying, singing intimate love songs to Jesus Christ and generally being quite comfortable with displaying affections and emotions).

That being said!

I have realised that I cannot miss being in the awesome atmosphere that is Brighton just because of one speaker. I got an amazing text today from my dear friend Luke which blessed me beyond words. The fact that he was courageous enough to text me what He believed was on God's heart challenged me. Newfrontiers is a people I need to be part of and among! They are the most faith-building people I have been privilidged to meet! I can't miss that. I can't miss the God-honouring worship that Kate Simmonds will lead us in.

So although we're not going to book for the entire week at the conference I have in fact booked the week off and we will probably be in and around Brighton. If there's room we will probably go for a few day visits and get to experience a taste of the worship and the Newfrontiers apostolic and prophetic speakers. I first thought when I heard about Mark Driscoll going to Brighton - that 2008 would be conference-less for myself. However in the lavish grace and providence of God that's no longer the case! But I still can't miss at least being at Brighton ... it's been too foundational in my life and to miss it - is a price to great to pay! I've got no shame in admitting I was wrong in declaring I wouldn't darken Brighton's doors while Driscoll was in town! I was wrong. If the manifest Presence of God is going to be welcomed and valued above all other factors then it doesn't matter WHO'S in town!

See you there Luke! And thanks again for being the voice of God's love to me today through prophecy when I needed it most! :-)

All the Heavens Shout Your Praise!!

I had a wonderful drive back from Bristol after a night shift just now! All night I was thinking about grace and in particular a concerning statement made by a preacher from Covenant Fellowship Church (see comments here). So as I began driving home I was asking God for a "word" on the issue and maybe things to write and think through on this blog. But I heard God audibly just say; "No words son, just enjoy". So I looked out the window of the car as I drove up the M5 and saw this:

And I just began to worship! The pure wonder and joy of seeing creation shout aloud the wonders of our God! I enjoyed a blend of my two favourite worship leaders - Kate Simmonds and Darlene Zschech. What wonderful inspiring prophetic women of God! The lyrics of every song began to stir me again and again;

"So when I see the empty tomb, I realise I am raised with You, forever no seated in heaven!!".

"All the heavens shout Your praise, beautiful in Zion the universe will sing - hallelujah to our King!".

We have been called to contemplate the Cross and to never get away from it but a text from my friend Pete came back to my mind. He wrote;

"The Cross is the legal basis for everything in the New Covenant. It deals with all that stopped us entering in. But it is not the essence of the New Covenant. The essence is life in the Spirit. "I baptise with water, but He will baptised with the Spirit".

Today I am focusing on the empty tomb because it tells me that Jesus Christ is alive and His sacrifice has been accepted gloriously and He is now seated in heaven. Because He is there we may walk in confident authority as ambassadors of the highest government in the universe! With that authority we may become ministers of the Spirit and we may indeed see signs and wonders accompanying our words of the Gospel! That fact - that doctrine - leads me to yet more worship! This wonderful prophetic song from Hillsongs just summed up EVERYTHING I felt surging through me about our wonderful God.

"No words son, just ENJOY!!". Allow the truth - the wonderful, freeing truth of this rush through you like electricity this Sunday as you go to worship Him. He is seated and reigning and we bear His righteousness as a free gift! He demands ONLY what He has given!! And He has given so freely and with such lavish grace!! May you receive an awesome baptism of His Spirit and fire this morning that fills your sails of faith and enables you to leap forward into the week with such power that non-Christians say "What is different about you?!".



PS: Note the chorus particularly; "Holy, holy God Almighty and forever the Lord is exalted! Hear the angels shout His anthem! Ever living God we adore You!".

It's OUT!!

I am thrilled that finally the Live Worship CD from Together on a Mission is finally out and available!! I don't think anyone would disagree with me for saying that there was an incredible anointing on the worship this year and I would frequently have to sit down quite suddenly at times because the Presence of God was so powerfully moving!! The worship leaders were Kate Simmonds and Simon Brading who were magnificent in leading us into the manifest Presence of God. Here is the track list of songs;

01. The Greatest Day In History (Happy Day)

02. Everyone Needs Compassion (Mighty To Save)

03. You Did Not Consider (Pouring Out)

04. Strength Will Rise (Everlasting God)

05. Looking In The Sky (Amazing God)

06. We Bow Before The Holy One (Let Your Rain Fall Down)

07. When I Survey The Wondrous Cross

08. Wake Every Heart (The Highest And The Greatest)

09. Jesus Christ (I Stand)

10. The Stars In Their Courses Above (You Alone Are God)

11. My Salvation Is Secure (The Joy Of The Lord)

12. Amazing Grace

There are some incredible new songs to learn that will be of awesome benefit in any local church and I do urge any and everyone to get out and buy it! Any international friends who want it - gimme an email and I will happily buy it for you and post it out to you so eager am I that everyone should benefit from this awesome CD.

"Mighty to Save!" - A New Song We Learnt at Brighton

I always have tremendous trouble trying to remember the awesome lyrics of new songs that we were taught at the Brighton "Together on a Mission Conference" hence (like Luke) I wait with anticipation for the live worship CD that is released sometime this month. In the meantime I was thrilled when I was at my parents home recently to hear one of the songs we learnt being sung on a Hillsongs album. It's called "Mighty to Save!" and it was just ... amazing!

I found the live clip of it on You-Tube. Here it is! I love watching the Hillsongs worshippers. What a people of passion!

Together on a Mission 2007 Reports!

Here they are ... the reports from "Together on a Mission 2007". There's little more I can actually say about this conference. The sessions speak for themselves!

THE Rob Rufus Seminar!!

This session was famous during the conference because people were being turned away as the venue was full. It's easy to see why - the anointing upon the meeting was tangible even through the recording.

Together on a Mission Quotes.

This is a first for me this year - I've gathered together all the best quotes I heard during the week and put it on our "Pentecostal/Charismatic Postit Notes" blog.

Together on a Mission Highlights!

Each year Newfrontiers produce a high quality DVD showing the highlights of the conference. Thanks to You-Tube - it's available here!

Rob Rufus Prophecies about Suicide Bombers!

During the reading of the Word of God - Rob Rufus suddenly brought this incredible prophecy - that suicide bombers will be felled by the glory of God and turned from haters to lovers.

Prophecies from Together on a Mission!

Although there weren't as many prophecies as at TOAM 06 - those that were given were of awesome weight. I will be posting more when the full recordings are made available.

Here are the links to the other session reports:

Session 1 - Stephen van Rhyn.

Session 2 - Rob Rufus.

Session 3 - Terry Virgo.

Session 4 - David Devenish.

Session 5 - Rob Rufus.

Mobilise Main Session - Rob Rufus

Seminar 1 - Terry Virgo on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Seminar 2 - Julian Adams on Prophecy.

Seminar 3 - David Holden on the Holy Spirit in Church.

Seminar 4 - Guy Miller on Prophecy.

Seminar 5 - John Hosier on Spiritual Warfare (Part 1).

Seminar 6 - Kate Simmonds on Worship.

Seminar 7 - Greg Haslam on Preaching.

Seminar 6 - Stuart Townend, Kate Simmonds and Peter Brookes at TOAM 07!

Worship TT2 – “Team Players” - Stuart Townend, Kate Simmonds and Peter Brookes.

Stuart Townend –

Kate Simmonds and Pete Brookes have got unique perspective of going from big established church at Brighton to new smaller plant in Australia. Communication – the definition of “team work” in the dictionary mentions a helpful thing; “Work done by organised division of labour, co-operation together” and note this one:

“Regard to the success of the whole rather than personal exploits”.

Co-operation – we must co-operate together. People who don’t work together won’t make an effective team. This involves listening. People are too concerned with what they are playing and not what the entire team are playing. Phatfish are a shining example of working together and listening to each other. Question is not – what shall I play hear – but does the sound need me here? Does it need me here? If not – may not need to play. We must pull together. Are you pulling in the same direction or are you as a worship team pulling in different directions?

There is an element of sacrifice of individual exploits of what we can do for the sake of the overall sound.

We are part of team! If playing solo then much more needed – but as part of a team, we have to adapt what he does to part of the broader team. Kate got some great things to say about the whole aspect of team work.

Kate Simmonds –

Being a part of church have known Peter and Susan Brookes for a long time – and also shared a platform with Stuart for a long time. Peter Brookes is a team guy and thrives on being part of a team. Peter hates not being part of a team. Gone from a team of eight elders at CCK to an office in Sydney. He is also great at releasing people into ministry. Not difficult to move to the other side of the world because we knew we were going to Peter – a team guy.

The importance of team unity has been underlined by God in recent years for us. Psalm – “Unity … there the Lord bestows the blessing”. Inspired by the Hillsong worship team. Great being in Sydney because we can go over to Hillsong sometimes and love that! But they are so committed to team!

“There is favour granted to those willing to pay the price of unity, hard work and sacrifice. It is costly. It can reveal all the things you don’t love about yourself – it takes such an unnatural measure of selflessness - but the fruit of it is a remarkable testimony to the grace and favour of the King. A fully functioning community of believers covers one another – they make up for one another’s weaknesses and they help one another shine. The Hillsong team enjoy great unity – we build each other up when we come together. It’s an amazing bunch of ordinary people who continue to say “Yes” to whatever need presents itself” – Darlene Zschech.

How do we build team when we come together?

“Success in the Kingdom is building into the lives and needs of others” – Darlene Zschech.

The Hillsong team is full of people who could be individual artists in their own right but together they can be more than they can alone. Disunity is bitter in flavour and petty in nature. Unity is fruitful and fun. We should have a ball together and love what we’re doing.

“People must know our love for them is infectious – that it is our joy to pray for them” – Rob Rufus.

We want to have fun and joy doing this! Really got that from Rob Rufus yesterday.

Last year went and led worship with Matt Weedle at “North 06” and put a band together for this event. We were friends who truly loved each other. We had a one hour rehearsal for the whole event but knew that this would be amazing! It wasn’t musically amazing but knew that this would be an amazing time. Had a picture in my heart that we were of one heart. Our hearts were wide open and totally unguarded. The blessing in worship was just incredible. No insecurity between any of us. God revealed to me a lesson about unity and the tangible power of that as in Psalm 133. The powerful unmistakable otherness of the manifest Presence of God. The language of Darlene Zschech oozes with love for each other.

1. Look for the strengths in each person.

Ask God to give you the eyes to see the gifts in each people. It is gifting that needs to be unleashed. Make mental notes as you see. Time spent in God’s Presence together as a worship team will create excitement as to what God is doing among you.

The bottom line is not great musicianship but if we don’t know what the Presence of God is like; if the church is not regularly in the manifest Presence of God then we are missing our reason for being a worship team.

So disappointing to see musicians just playing and not engaging with God. We want worshippers! We need to be worshipping, waiting and growing in the gifts together and the benefit of this is incalculable.

2. Be Leaders of Vision.

We may be geographically isolated but are still connected to families of churches across the globe and there may be prophecies over us – over our church. Get hold of pastor and learn what the prophecies over the church are. The most important thing about team is that people embrace the idea of giving themselves to something bigger than they are.

3. Run with what God is doing with you.

Be fluid! Don’t feel that you must stay stuck. Set a high standard with what God is doing. Scrappy and lengthy sound checks use up valuable time and may create tensions. Learn to do it right. Set a standard of how it should be done. Even in a small church set standards of excellence. Get an efficient routine that will get morale high and focus clear. How can we do this well and efficiently so that it’s not a hideous burden every week?

Never avoid confrontation but always talk things through in love.

If you let little things slip they are always harder to fix later. Use the principles of parenting to address things in people. As with parenting – choose your battles. A team is in some ways built one person at a time. If we don’t win the tricky ones they can ruin it for everyone. Saw the opposite in a vocal training day at a church once. Greeted with words; “I just want to warn you …”. There was one controlling person ruining it for everyone. It was barren and fruitless and made me grieve in heart. That is the opposite of unity. No fruit whatsoever without unity!

Be careful not to promote gifted people with the wrong attitude until they have the right attitude.

They can be part of team but perhaps not on platform yet. Even if you feel you need that gift right now!

5. Give time to practical work.

Listen to CD arrangements and learn what works.

Great musicians are great listeners.

In Sydney no one has ever given any time to thinking through these things and there is sudden fruit! There must be time working out harmonies instead of working things out on the spot. With church plants there is a period of unsettlement. Everything is different! It takes extra mental and emotional effort and be sensitive to new people so they don’t see you only on Sundays.

We haven’t struggled in going from big church to small church! We wouldn’t be anywhere else because we know God has called us to go and be there and be part of a team.

“We know our life is brief – we can play our part in something significant – we can build a house for God” – Terry Virgo.

It’s not hard to inspire people to give themselves to something worthwhile. Recommend Darlene Zschech’s books – “Kiss of Heaven” and “Extravagant Worship”.

Stuart Townend

Evaluate – where are you in friendships within your worship team? Who particularly needs to be loved in your team? Make a note of practical things you can do to develop and strengthen friendships. Are you making time to worship? If not how can you structure rehearsals to make sure that isn’t the thing that gets cut?

Vision – what has God spoken to your local church over the last year prophetically or in a sense of leadership and how should that effect how you prepare to lead?

How does your part in the public aspect of church fit in with what God has spoken? Profound things that Kate has spoken that are full of wisdom.

Sound checks at their worst are a melee! They are not disciplined. Separate rehearsal time from sound check time. That helps the sound guy or girl. Go through each instrument – let the sound guy or girl lead the sound check time. Get everything set up and then let sound check guy lead and ask each instrument to play. No talking or playing! Be disciplined! Then think about what we can hear in our fold back. Each person in turn should say how much or little they want in their monitor. Then play half a song and re-evaluate. Shut up when you are not playing!

What do we do if the sound guy isn’t gifted in sound? It’s a whole other seminar! In years gone by at CCK it used to be if you could play you were in the band, if you couldn’t even steward then you were on sound desk! It actually is a brilliant task and requires skill. Too often people only speak to him when it’s wrong. He must be part of the team. He needs to hear what the band sounds like and feel part of creating this thing. He carries a huge amount of power! He can make you sound rubbish or brilliant. Sometimes bring in outside people to teach us how to do it better. Sound guy should be interested in music so as to understand what these instruments sound like. Sometimes people are technical but have no idea what it should sound like.

Practical side to rehearsals and how we do them. Set goals. Where do you want to be in a year’s time with your worship team? Long term and short term goals. E.g develops area of prophetic singing. Set a goal for that! Want one prophetic singing out. Rehearse songs for this and next Sunday so that next week we are not spending time preparing but can practice prophetic singing. Get keyboard player to play a few chords and get band members to sing out Scripture. Set short term goals in order to achieve long term goal.

Agree a time to begin. Arrive at appropriate times depending on instrument. Fold back on monitors is important. If you can’t hear it holds things up. Tune up! Be disciplined! People should not be talking while you are explaining the next song. May need to send others into next room to practice harmonies. May be deflating in terms of morale if band don’t play for majority of time while sorting out woodwind. Sort out your hand signals! Use them!

Notes for leaders – set a time to end and stick to it. It is a betrayal of trust to expect all to arrive at half seven and finish at nine when you don’t. Be sensitive to people’s ability and confidence. Don’t be afraid to delegate. Just because you are the team leader doesn’t mean you have to be the best all round. Give others jobs – use the gifts of the team.

Question of relationship between church leader and worship leader. This question always comes up! It is a vital relationship because it is so powerful when preaching and worship go hand in hand. Asked Pete and Kate to speak from their perspectives as to responsibilities to the other and expectations of the other.

Peter Brookes.

Dave Fellingham once said in his book that the relationship between church leaders and musicians is vital if a church is to be effective in worship. View the whole church as a team when you come to worship. We are altogether as a team! Within that is smaller team is the worship team and eldership team. How can you avoid clashes?

1. One key is avoiding a “them” and “us” mentality. Avoid talk of “my time”. It is God’s time! Be passionate to meet with God! Don’t have that sense of “yours” or “my” time!
2. Communicate about the meeting and beyond the meeting! What are we going to do in the meeting? Who’s going to start it? Talk about it! Elder may start the meeting but then worship leader may start. Talk together! Each may have something valid from God to start the meeting. It’s not about the meeting – it’s about life together in God! Communicate what God is doing in your life.
3. Develop a team feel. Friendship – not just a job! There weren’t many people I went to and asked them to come with us but did with Miles and Kate Simmonds. Won’t build a big church in Sydney without their ministry! Apostolic forum can’t believe I have got Kate Simmonds with me in Sydney! Kate knows I am for her – want her to continue to do in what God has given her to do. God has given her a massive anointing and will be displayed more and more in a big church in Sydney.
4. Make sure you are on the same page. Be clear on where authority lies. Ultimately the authority of the church lies with the eldership. The buck stops with me. Be very releasing. Make sure you bring direction – don’t allow drifting! One occasion in Brighton when the meeting produced every odd prophetic person turned up! There must be an element of trust between you. Trust Kate and Miles because they want to get us to God!

I don’t want worship leaders on the platform if they are not worshippers!

Kate Simmonds.

Be reliable and consistent in gifting and temperament. It is all to do with humility. Know the Word of God. Spot a dodgy line in a song. Do things the way your pastor wants them done! Ask them “How do you want this conducted?”. Never serve your own agenda. Love the church! You want the people of God to meet with God. Come full of the Holy Spirit! Bring a sensitive response to the preaching of the Word of God – what is the heart of this message? My expectations of church leader – when Terry Virgo asked me to lead Stoneleigh I asked God for authority needed. You do need authority to lead but that is always submitted to church leader! Authority goes with role rather than gender. There is a beautiful safety net – worship leaders don’t need to correct prophecies! That is the elder’s job! We are secure with our elders in trusting them to weigh what is brought.

Expect leaders to trust – but that is earned over time and over years of relationship. Expect church leader to be a worshipper and to love the Presence of God and place a high value on worship. Sometimes you may see an elder looking around at the church and not engaged. We must have a commitment to the next generation. Bring the young through! Have a heart to see our children worshipping! Our kids are receptive to the Holy Spirit. Simon Brading started leading worship when he was 11!

There is no limit for our kids today!

Simon Brading said others have encouraged him to look out for new worship leaders – he is looking out for the ones God has got His hand on. But when he started leading worship he didn’t have any concept of what leading worship was like. I sang in worship for 5 or 6 years before releasing what worship is about! Get them into the team! Get them getting our heart and seeing what it’s about!

Run new songs by your church leader! Songs we sing shape the theology of the church.

This conference is all about the glory of God. The content of the songs is increasingly “You – You – You”.

Expect constructive criticism. Don’t want “Fantastic” or “Silence”. Silence says to me “You have failed”. Sometimes the people are not up for it. Perhaps we need teaching about being a worshipper but sometimes the pastor may say a gap was too long. Don’t talk too much! Dave Fellingham has said that to us again and again at CCK. Receive those things!

Expect in your heart a move of God! We are there to prepare the worship team for a move of God! Teach servanthood and sacrifice and the Presence and glory of God! It is putting a big picture in people’s hearts – but make sure that is in line with your pastor’s.

Sunday at CCK Brighton!!

As I promised here are the day by day reports from the heavenly week we have just had in Brighton and it began of course on Sunday at Church of Christ the King (where Terry Virgo is based). Scott and I had gone down on the Saturday afternoon to be there for the reason that CCK had managed to get Rob Rufus to come and speak to them before the conference began both morning and evening. Kate Simmonds was also back early to lead worship at her former church, so it was with some degree of excitement that we arrived at what we consider to be our second home! Both Kate and Rob were welcomed with typical CCK passion.

One of the reasons I love Kate's way of leading worship is that it seems there is;

"No warm-up allowed!".

Straight away we were being led into the Presence of God and God responded with His zeal for His people by coming down so powerfully upon the gathered masses. Here's how the worship went;

• Praise Awaits You.


• We Come in Your Name.


• (new song) Pouring Out.


• (new song) Lord You are an amazing God.

There then was the most AWESOME prayer shouted out from an African lady in the congregation! Her passion and her zeal and evident love for the Lord had people trembling and crying out. I love charismatic churches! Without them - you wouldn't have this!

A lady then came up the front and began to prophecy;

"There are coming days when you will appreciate the sense of betrothal more and more. I am going to draw you into My Presence more and more. This love will give you a passion for the Kingdom. You will know the mystery of this love of God for His Bride the Church and it will impact your lives. I have had your names written on My heart. Look to Me afresh for the signs that I am drawing you".

John Hosier then came up and appropriately weighed and responded to the prophecy in a prayer. And Kate then led us in the awesome song;

• Every knee shall bow.

Joel Virgo - the lead elder at CCK - then came up and introduced Rob Rufus warmly and filled in some of the history as to how long Rob had known Terry (who was present and in the front row with Wendy). Rob then came up to preach;

His text was 1 Corinthians 10:1-2 (but he didn't use it a great deal!).

Rob began by making some comments about "Antioch" churches and "Corinthian" churches and their presence today. "Antioch" churches are those churches who for them the boundaries of the Kingdom of God know no bounds! They live to give! "Corinthian" churches on the other hand are indeed a people of power (and there is nothing wrong with that) but they are limited by self-indulgence. They cannot see past their own borders. Rob urged us;

"Give away your best to the nations for they are in our inheritance! The kingdom of heaven is given to those who believe that worship must cater to His temperament and His desire. The time to reap is coming in a powerful way!".

Rob then asked his wife Glenda to come up and bring a prophecy that the Lord had given her that morning while he was out for a run. She came up and said the following;

"The heart of God wants to commend you as a church. Younger generations have faithfully guarded what has been passed down by their fathers. They know the price that was paid and the battle that was fought. The fathers fought to see God's kingdom restored. They cried out for revival! You as a church are going into a season of reaping. It is harvest time! It's promise time! It's fulfillment time! This is not a time to waver and say "Will it come?". It's time to be bold in the Spirit! It is an Amos season!".

Rob then continued. Budda's tomb is occupied! Mohammad's tomb is occupied! But there is an empty tomb in Jerusalem! He said that he has been given an assignment to birth grace-filled churches across the nations. There is a cry for freedom across the churches of the nations. A cry for chains to fall off!

He referred to his text and made the point that Israel was baptised into Moses when they went through the sea and into the cloud. Too many evangelicals stop at baptism in the sea and forget the cloud. For us we are baptised into Christ but we also need to pass through the cloud of glory! There is more to come! We should be expecting our shadows to heal the sick as we walk through the streets of Brighton! He said;

"We cannot win people one by one - the race is too fast! We need the cloud of glory to settle on cities so that hundreds of thousands of millions are swept into the Kingdom of God! It has happened in Wales! It has happened in Azusa Street! There MUST be more in heaven than there is in hell!".

When you touch the glory of God, God Himself in tangible naked glory is revealed to us! Religions today are trying to counterfeit the lack of the glory with Adam-like fig leaves. Conversion means more than baptism in water - we must be enveloped in the glory! He prophesied;

"The day is coming when you will stand in My glory and radiate it effortlessly".

Access to the glory is through the finished work of Jesus Christ and that is it. It isn't our good works that produce faith but our faith that produces good works. God has prepared Newfrontiers by living in a foundation of grace to stand in the glory. Grace is essential! The Old Covenant glory revealed God's opinion of you and me through the law. We all know we are breaking the law. He demands a perfect righteousness from you yet under grace in the New Covenant we see His opinion through grace.

"Law says "DO - DO - DO!". Grace says "It is DONE!".

If we truly grasp our weakness and utter helplessness apart from grace then the cherubim will back off and allow us into the glory. He testified that while preaching in Hong Kong before coming to the UK, 2 angels came down in glory and stood either side of him while preaching with trumpets. A lady got healed even before making it to the front! He made the point that fasting doesn't earn the blessing or the glory. It simply positions us to be more sensative to God.

"All over the world true New Covenant churches with a foundation of grace are moving into the glory. You can never see the cloud of glory while you are in the land of slavery".

The enemy knows that legalism in the church will stop the Church coming into the cloud of glory. The doctrine of demons that will be taught in the last days is not license but a return to legalism - forbidding marriage and so on - people will not leave the faith for license. They will leave it because of legalism. We may know a bit of freedom but then like Pharoh and his armies, the slavemasters of the law will come and attempt to drag us back.

(Exodus 20:14) At one point the Israelites were more aware of the armies of Egpyt than they were the cloud of glory that was ahead of them. But then the cloud of glory moved through them to seperate them from the slavemasters. This is where the church is prophetically in 2007. This is where the Israelites got baptised into the cloud. There is a teaching abroad that calls to "balance the teaching of grace with law!". Satan is behind that lie! How can you balance heaven and hell? How can you balance good and evil? They are mutually incompatible!

God the Father treated Jesus Christ as the worst sinner on the plant so that you and I can be treated as the most righteous. "By one sacrifice you and I have been made perfect forever!". Disobedience or obedience doesn't affect the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. In the Father's eyes we are perfect forever! In the cloud of glory you can see only Jesus!

"Jesus + Anything = Nothing.

Jesus +Moses + Elijah = Nothing.

Jesus + Law = Nothing.

Jesus + Nothing = Everything!".

It is effortless. "He healed them ALL".

Tonight: Simon Brading leading worship and Rob Rufus speaking the "Anointing of God" with the most incredible ministry time!

CCK, Brighton on Sunday 8th July!!

I noted a few days ago that Rob Rufus will be speaking at CCK in Brighton prior to "Together on a Mission" - and am tremendously excited about that. I was discussing with my new pastor up in Birmingham how we both wanted to hear Rob in the context of a local church teach as compared to a larger conference - so here is our chance! I can't wait to hear what he has to say and to share to that wonderful church. But if that wasn't enough and my excitement wasn't reaching fever pitch - I now note that Kate Simmonds will be back and leading worship in the morning on that Sunday!

Now let me reassure all worried readers - I am not in the process of hero worship (not much anyway!). Heroes tend to be human and they will and do let you down. Unless they are glorified in heaven like Ern Baxter! My excitement at this key Sunday is that two respected servants of God who I do deeply admire, respect and love will be together taking joint responsibility to lead us into the Presence of God and set the Brighton week off with an awesome kick start! Kate's gifting for not taking centre stage but leading the congregation into worship is just outstanding. There are very few worship leaders I know who within the first song can take us "there".

It's going to be quite a week - quite a conference. And I am desperately hungry to meet God in awesome and unparallelled power. "Show me Your glory God! Show us Your glory!".

Looking Forward by Looking Back!!

Well Scott and I have just booked our transport to get to Brighton on Saturday 7th July in time to hear Rob Rufus speak at CCK on the Sunday ... and then ... "Together on a Mission 2007" begins!! I know I'm not the only one getting excited. Joel Gill is too and he gave me a good idea as to how best prepare for what God will do this year. He provided his excellent summary reviews of the sessions last year and just reading them through reminded me of how much I have forgotten about the moving of the Spirit of God throughout that amazing week!

So here's a few of my highlights from "Together on a Mission" - last year!

Rob Rufus - Seminar 1.

"There are 3 essential components to a good wineskin 1. Authority Structures. 2. Biblical Vision - "To the Nations". 3. Biblical Values. We must not throw these values away if God comes in power!"

Rob Rufus - Seminar 2.

"We are not to look back and live in some triumphalistic euphoria about the past. For example, we are not to 1. Desire to go back to the days of Kathryn Kuhlman or Smith Wigglesworth but we are to desire to go forward to greater works! And 2. We are not to look back with disgust at the mistakes they made but to bless and honour the past".

Rob Rufus - Seminar 3.

"We were born for glory! There are possibilities of knowing Jesus of Nazareth at the right hand of the Father more intimately and in experiential closeness almost more intimately than the 12 disciples".

Rob Rufus - Main Session.

"An Encounter with God Delivers Us from Limiting Theology. Extreme Calvinism moves us towards passivism then fatalism. "Some use the doctrines of Calvin as a bed for laziness. But I use it as a couch for my refreshment" (C H Spurgeon)"

Dave Holden - Main Session.

"The reason Newfrontiers exists is because of an experience of the Holy Spirit" (John Hosier). This is surprising! Not our commitment to Ephesians 4 ministries, or even our commitment to church initially but an experience of the Spirit. If we have begun in the Spirit, and are trying to continue in the Spirit - then guess where we are going? In the Spirit! Our own experience of the Holy Spirit should make us want to get everyone to experience Him".

Then of course there were the amazing prophecies that were brought to the conference.

Terry Virgo called us to;

"Get ready for the Coming King! Don't be surprised at My coming. Don't feel out of step when the King comes marching along. Don't be forever skipping to try and catch the pase of this new step - this new march".

And also to;

"I want you to not always take the same journey home. Always the same route, always the same path. I want you to escape and look and see - experiment! I want you to move into territory where I am there. I am waiting for you out there. I am waiting for you where I can manifest to you My sufficiency in the unpredictable says the Lord".

John Groves brought an amazing prophecy exploring the wonders of God's creation while Ginny Burgin caused shockwaves to go around the auditorium as she prophecied that the call of God was to wake up!

And finally the worship was wonderfully and sensatively led by Kate Simmonds and Stuart Townend along with Evan Rodgers. My highlight there was to enter into the throne room of heaven singing "Draw Me Close to You" ... yes it does seem possible to be able to draw near to God singing a song so widely disliked by evangelicals. But also the anthem of the week - "Yours is the Kingdom!". As Luke said - you cannot help but be stirred as Kate Simmonds opened the song with her shout; "Let's give glory to God this morning; all the glory is His!"

So there we have it. What a week.

Am I hoping for the "same again?". No - I will be disappointed if it is simply "the same again". Another year - another conference - another CD. God has promised and suggested so much. Hope is rampant across the nation. Prayers have been rising for months. God has to come in power! We gather to worship Him and nothing less than His Presence and glory will do!

PS: I have updated the "Charismatic Resurgence" post - which was long overdue. Go read it! There are some awesome articles and links to follow!